Odd Little Story Series- Full Metal Panic Inuyasha
by GoldenGryphon
Summary: Poor Sousuke! He is once again dragged along behind Kaname as she tries to force him into "normal" society. Little does she know that normal has little place in her life and, due to her, no place in Sousuke's. Ending up in the distant past, surrounded by magical creatures and cut off from all that's familiar, what's a Specialist to do? Another try at the Odd Little Story Series.


Quite some time ago, I decided to try my hand at writing fanfic. After some fumbling around, I ended up with a short opening paragraph that I liked. I quickly realized that it applied equally to many of my favorite fandoms and several pairings in those particular fandoms. So, being an optimistic over-achiever, I decided to try to write them all. What I have posted is as much as I have so far. Now, you know as much as I know about these stories. I gve you:

 **Odd Little Story – FMP / Inuyasha Mix**

He peered out through the leaves of the shrubbery that kept him hidden in the woods along the meadow. He could see her. He could see all of them, actually, but his attention was focused on her. Her long blue-black hair. Her laughter in the sunlight. She was entrancing and he watched her with a predator's hunger.

Her companions were still new to her; to him, too. They had been in the Sengoku Jidai for less than a week and were still feeling their way around the area. He felt … uncomfortable … with his limited resources. He was unable to get reloads for his pistols; was unable to get resupply on his MREs and emergency medical supplies; he was unable to use his satellite phone. He had been in worse situations, but he was still responsible for her. Her safety and protection was more important than his life. He just wasn't certain he'd be able to see to her care and well-being without assistance. It was unfortunate, in his mind, that the assistance they had been able to find seemed to be just as dangerous as any possible attacker could be.

He wasn't certain how far he could trust any of their new friends. Well, she called them friends. He wasn't so certain about their trustworthiness, given the amount of in-fighting that took place in their group, even before they, the two newcomers, had been added to the ranks. The fact that the small group of strange people had so completely taken the two in, with no hesitation except on the part of the erst-while leader, had made him nervous. If they were this accepting of all strangers, then she was in more danger than he had previously thought. He had been busy, for the past week, doing his best to ensure her safety. These … people … could do more harm than good. And he saw no way to stop her from interacting with them, from inviting them into her life, from making it even more difficult for him to protect her.

He was frustrated with her intransigence in this matter. She simply would not leave what she called "the first friendly faces we've seen here". He could have told her that friendly faces were dangerous. He could have told her that the larger the group, the more likely they would be noticed and placed in danger. He did try to explain that joining an already established group with a definite hierarchy was not going to go as smoothly and well as she, and her new friends, seemed to think. She had stopped him with an order.

"Sergeant Sagura! We will be joining these people until we are able to make our way home. And That Is The End Of Discussion! Am I understood, Sergeant Sagura?"

His automatic response to authority, which he did consider her and which she would often take advantage of, resulted in his capitulation.

"Sir, yes Sir! Understood, Sir!"

And now he had to keep her safe, even surrounded by people who could, even now, be plotting to hurt or kill her. His only blessing, it seemed, was that her harisen had been lost in the passage between where they had been and wherever this was. He hoped it never returned; though she was good enough at stopping him short with her cutting words when it pleased her. The harisen was actually less painful to his psyche. After all, physical pain was something he was used to. Being a constant failure was not, and she made certain that he knew she considered his every lack in her eyes as a failure on his part to do his duty by her. He was not certain he would ever meet her expectations, but he would keep trying. It was his duty; it was his … choice. She was his choice. The fact that she did not see to what lengths he was willing to go to for her was not her failing, it was his. All his. And still, he did not meet her expectations or minimum standards.

He often wondered how he could have made it so far in life without the knowledge she seemed to intuitively possess, but then, he was a simple soldier and she was … special. Yes, she was Whispered, which was why he was assigned to her, but her unique abilities went beyond her unnatural technical expertise. She was … Chidori Kaname, and that was enough to make him want her happy and alive. It was a pity she did not seem to think the same of him, but that was both the blessing and curse of being a soldier. If she would only pay more attention to her surroundings and not wander off, as she was so prone to do.

It was enough to cause even a specialist to bemoan his fate.

 _Captain Tagon: Lt. Commander Shodan, years ago when you enlisted you asked for a job as a martial arts trainer.  
Captain Tagon: And here you are, trying to solve our current problem with martial arts training.  
Captain Tagon: How's that saying go? "When you're armed with a hammer, all your enemies become nails?"  
Shodan: Sir,.. you're right. I'm being narrow-minded.  
Captain Tagon: No, no. Please continue. I bet martial arts training is a really, really useful hammer._

 _(_ _Schlock Mercenary_ _– Howard Tayler)_

She had talked him into a hike. That was the only reason they were as well-supplied as they were. He had been able to bring a pack with what he considered basic supplies – sufficient for any situation they might run across. With Chidori at his side, he had learned that anything from a sudden rain shower to bombings, shoot-outs, and kidnappings could all happen at any time. He was well-prepared for any eventuality, he thought.

He had the basics of survival gear: his favorite weaponry, along with reloads, extra magazines and cleaning supplies; an assortment of knives and distance weaponry; some primitive survival gear, just in case they were, once again, caught in a place without food, water, or shelter; some MREs, though he knew she didn't care for them along with the more portable emergency ration bars that she would condescend to eat if necessary; a few maps of the area; and some Mylar blankets just in case. The pack weighed a bit more than the regulation 80 pounds. But he was used to the added mass and it was comforting to know that he was as well prepared as he could get.

When she added her picnic blanket, and two changes of clothes to his pack, and had him do the same, he was pleased that she showed the foresight of planning based on their previous experiences. That she blamed him for their misadventures, he could handle. As long as she was adequately prepared and as safe as he could make her, he was content. That she had made a joke about him being her pack mule was fine. He was a soldier; it was his lot in life. And he was better able to carry the weight than she, having had much more practice at it and being used to such things.

She had taken up a much lighter weight pack, a garish pink in color, that was, she said, full of their lunch and snacks. He was content. She was a good cook, and took pride in displaying her talents in the kitchen. He looked forward to her meals, even though food such as she prepared was rather unnecessarily complicated. She also tended to have a bit of a sweet tooth, but the immediate energy provided by the excess of sugar was easily worked off during the course of his ongoing training. And around her, he could never take anything for granted. Her meals were well balanced between the basics, so he knew that her picnic surprise would be pleasant.

That she was looking forward to spending the time with him was surprising. He had fully expected that they would be meeting up with several of their mutual classmates, but she had disabused him of that notion. In her mind, his lack knowledge of Japanese history, other than wars and recent battles, was a major stumbling block for him. She was going to try to make things more "real" for him by taking him to historical sites that were important in the distant past. He thought that visiting old battlegrounds from three to six hundred years ago was a bit much, and not likely to change his knowledge of history that much, but it made her happy to take him around and he was pleased to see her smile about spending time with him. His feelings for her both confused and disturbed him, but he was a Specialist and would do what was necessary to see that she enjoyed her day.

The first site had been an empty field. With not much to show, there was a section near the front of the battle site that explained its importance, as well as what battles had been fought and who, as far as anyone knew, had been involved. They had spent some time looking over the field and he had dutifully read all of the information available, as well as what he could find in online sources using her cell phone. He had spent some time trying to explain where the ancient warriors had gone wrong in their troop dispersal, and she had smacked him with her halisan and taken them off to the second site.

He had greatly enjoyed the museum displays at the second site. They had been well-designed displays of both swords and armor from the "Warring States" period. That the guide also lived on-site and was an archeology major, proved to make him an interesting conversationalist on the techniques and styles of armor, weapons and modes of battle. Sosuke was happily engaged in a discussion of the similarities of the heavy war horse cavalry compared to more modern small mobilized tank and arm-slave details when Chidori began to display her impatience with staying at the site. He took the scholar's contact information with pleasure, hoping for a chance to expand his knowledge even more, and the opportunity of gaining a new contact with knowledge in warfare was always important.

He was pleased when Chidori told him there was one more stop on their trek, at which point they would eat their lunch and plan for the rest of the day. It was when they arrived at the shrine that he first got a bit confused. This was not like any battle site or historical museum that he was familiar with. There were small outer buildings clustered around a medium-sized private house. There was a large courtyard in front of the private residence and smaller buildings that butted against a remarkably large tree that had been decorated with ribbons and other ceremonial decorations. It seemed obvious that one of the somewhat larger side buildings was a shrine, while the tree was a Goshinboku, one of many. No, there was no obvious reason for them to be here, at a shrine.

Chidori took his hand and dragged him to the shrine. Once therein, he took the time to adjust to the limited light and the restrictions of space. The front of the building was taken up with what seemed to be a gift shop of sorts, filled with shelves of small tree and shrine replicas, open baskets of key chains of the tree, a pink crystal of some sort, and a stereo-typical shrine maiden. There were costumes and pieces of costume available ranging from a full polyester shrine maiden's outfit for young girls to headbands that had furry ears. There was a box that contained, according to the sign, ofudas guaranteed to protect against demons and another that purported to contain a map of Japan during the Feudal Era. There were boxes of incense, candles, and candy bars of dubious quality. There was an older man, dressed vaguely as a shrine priest, humming to himself and playing with a ball and stick child's toy.

The older man suddenly looked up, catching a glance at the two young people. He darted forward, moving forward at a fast clip, apparently determined to intersect their path. Sosuke stepped forward, subtly stepping in front of Chidori, just in case there was danger here that was not obvious.

"You must be here for the Festival of Remembrance!" the older man exulted.

"I am afraid we knew nothing of a festival. We are here to learn of Japan's history, nothing more." Sosuke was firm, but, to his mind, friendly to the old priest.

"Even better! Ask any question you wish. There are books over there", the older man gestured towards a series of shelves that were indeed filled with various printed materials, "and I know everything there is to know about this shrine, the Great Goshinboku, and the Well of All-Souls. I can even tell you about some of the great battles that have been fought for control over the Shikon-no-Tama, the main reason this shrine still stands here today!"

"First, however, you need to familiarize yourselves with the site so you will understand the true impact of the story. Please, buy a few of our simple and amazingly inexpensive trinkets to remind yourselves of the importance of this wondrous historical and sacred place, then go forth and see what of the attractions you wish to know more about. You may wish to add this small guide, only ten yen, to your purchases." The priest gave Sosuke a beatific smile that reminded Sosuke of many a small-time weapons dealer who thought he had a pigeon in his clasp.

To Sosuke's dismay, Chidori was happily browsing the shop and starting a pile of small objects that seemed to have no use, in Sosuke's mind. He sighed softly, then picked up a copy of one of the more complete historical dissertations and one of the maps of Feudal Era Japan. After all, you could never have enough maps, even if they had no real hope of being useful. Sosuke was surprised to discover that while there were maps depicting the entirety of Japan, there were others that seemed to be centered on the immediate environs and showed a region of about fifty kilometers around. There were rivers, onsen, villages, and roads all marked rather clearly. It seemed almost as though it was more than a useless map, but perhaps a good reproduction of something that had survived for the five hundred years and was depicting the region around the shrine for some purpose. It was odd, but Sosuke added that map to the growing pile on the small counter.

While Chidori was busy talking to herself about how cute some of the stuffed toys were, Sosuke went ahead and purchased everything that was in the pile of assorted kick-knacks, toys, and small dangling items. He had no idea what Chidori wanted with most of this stuff, but it made her happy, so he went ahead and bought it for her. He quickly packed most of it away into the various outside pockets on his pack, figuring she might want to have access to her new things, but the maps went with all of his others, in an easily accessible waterproof pocket of his pack. While he didn't think they were extremely useful, they would be good for comparison with more modern maps and many of the more permanent features were not likely to have changed much. After all, hills and mountains, while wearing away with time and human interference, do tend to stick around for more than five hundred years.

He picked up both the small guide to the shrine and the larger book on historical facts of the area and moved to the shrine entrance itself.

"Chidori? It may be time to continue our tour. Our guide has gone ahead to light our way, or so he said." Sosuke was able to break into Kaname's "conversation" that she was having with an odd stuffed dog wearing a red coat. She carefully put it back into the pile of similar items and made her way over to him.

"Sosuke? What happened to all my stuff? It was right here…..you didn't put it back, did you?" Her tone was beginning to rise as she started to jump to conclusions. While he enjoyed seeing her cheekbones flush as she became mildly angry, she was carrying all of their immediate food and he would like to enjoy the rest of the day as pain-free as possible.

"I have everything here, in my pack, in these pockets. I thought you might want access to your things, but wanted to make certain they were safe before we continued our tour." He smiled to himself, the slightest twitch of his lips, watching the anger give way to slight confusion before being replaced by delight on her face. She was so expressive. Her every thought crossed her face without guile or deceit. He would do a great deal to make certain she stayed this way – as innocent of the horrors of the world as he could keep her.

The tour through the shrine itself was interesting, if not exactly what either of the two teenagers had expected. The shrine was dedicated to the Shikon no Tama and most of the displays were focused around various historical representations of the infamous magical crystal. The priest, if such is what he truly was, seemed to be able to talk about the various unlikely events that surrounded the history of the jewel. While Sosuke was disappointed, there were some interesting displays of Late Warring States period armor and weapons, including two swords that were labeled as being "accurate replicas" of swords carried by some of the more famous of the characters in the stories the priest was telling. They didn't look like anything that would have been created during the time period, to Sosuke's eyes, but since they were supposed to be replicas of imaginary swords, he didn't see any harm in the inaccurate depiction. If it pleased the old priest to have such things about, Sosuke figured it was a small enough thing. After all, the old man believed that the Shikon no Tama actually existed at one point and was created from the souls of three demons and a magic-wielding priestess.


End file.
